When young, my eldest son always wanted to go to Jerusalem and the Sea of Galilee, to “walk where Jesus walked”. He said that if he walked all around the Sea he was bound to touch on part of the shore touched by Jesus’ feet!

Jerusalem has millions of visitors a year; many of them for religious purposes, enjoying what is probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But, unlike my son, whose sanity is assured, some end up with psychotic delusions and other mental aberrations, suitably labelled ‘Jerusalem Syndrome’.

The Telegraph contained some interesting stories of folks struck down by this strange malady. For example, an Irish school-teacher who went to a Jerusalem hospital convinced she was giving birth to the baby Jesus, though not even pregnant. Then there was the Canadian tourist who tried to pull out blocks from the wailing wall (have you seen how big they are? Each weighs several tons!), because he thought he was Samson. An Austrian man flew into a rage when hotel staff refused to prepare the Last Supper for him. This odd Syndrome only seems to affect foreign visitors/tourists.

Israel says these cases come to about 50-100 a year, and police and mental health professionals are forced to intervene because the delusions are so strong and often causing big problems. There are many more cases that do not bring in the authorities. This is no recent thing – it seems the Syndrome goes back to at least Medieval times! One Anglican vicar, in 1870, commented that “many Americans who arrive at Jerusalem are either lunatics or lose their mind thereafter.”

According to psychiatrists, when tourists enter into delusional mode their behaviour is theatrical and very public... wailing in the streets, tearing up hotel sheets to wear as togas, give sudden sermons at gates, and so on. Dr Moshe Kalian one-time district psychiatrist, is a leading authority on the Syndrome; he says those affected have a striking appearance and deliberately go to Jerusalem to act out their delusions. Thus, those who have this condition began their strange behaviour long before they visit Jerusalem... the visit seems to turn on their problem to full-flow.

Some psychiatrists claim the Syndrome does not, however, affect Muslims (possibly because Islam has no serious drama connected to the city): “Although Jerusalem is sacred to all three major monotheistic religions….no documentation regarding the syndrome among Muslims was found.” But, others say Muslims, too, can be affected... it must be recognised that many Muslims show very deep and dramatic allegiance to Islam. In all cases, symptoms imply a form of hysteria.

It seems, then, that before they visited Jerusalem, most affected already had mental health issues, and wanted to reach what they saw as their final destination so they could at last work out their delusions in practice. It also seems true that a few with the Syndrome did not display mental aberrations before their visit. Either way, whilst most are harmless, though noisy, some become violent. Those who do not display symptoms until they arrive in Jerusalem are termed as ‘Type III’ (see later classifications). Psychiatrists think perhaps they are overwhelmed by the whole religious experience. Of 42 recent tourists who fell into this category, and who showed severe psychotic symptoms, all recovered before leaving Jerusalem. Interestingly, 40 of those were described by psychiatrists as ‘ultra-religious’ from Protestant families. I know the kind they are talking about... all actions and ecstasy but no true doctrine. Charismatics fall into this category.

On his Mediterranean tour, a Swiss lawyer was fine until he reached Jerusalem, where he wore bed sheets and went around loudly repeating Bible verses. When he left the city to go on to Egypt, he was fine, with no psychotic symptoms. It is my view that psychosis of any kind is self-induced, and such cases appear to support my view. Some psychiatrists, though, think there had to be an underlying psychosis struggling to get out. The trouble with that explanation is that EVERYONE could have an underlying psychosis.

Jerusalem Syndrome is not that special... there is also Stendhal Syndrome experienced by art-tourists to Florence when they see the grand old masters on display. Some Japanese tourists in Paris have Paris Syndrome, because they have idealised the city for so long. But, neither is as severe or dramatic as Jerusalem Syndrome. Even so, it does suggest a similar background excitement or anxiety.

Over a 13 year period the Kfar Shaul Mental Health Centre in Jerusalem analysed the cases of 1200 tourists who fell to this curious condition (Bar-el Y, Durst R, Katz G, Zislin J, Strauss Z, Knobler HY.[2000] Jerusalem syndrome. British Journal of Psychiatry, 176, 86-90). When compared to other major cities, however, it was noted that the numbers admitted to a local psychiatric facility were similar to those in other cities who admitted visitors, some of whom fell to psychosis.

Type 1

This is when Jerusalem syndrome is imposed on a pre-existing psychotic illness, e.g. individuals already diagnosed as having a psychotic illness before their visit to Jerusalem. They tend to go to the city, influenced by religious ideas, usually with a goal or mission in mind that they believe needs to be completed on arrival or during their stay. E.g. an affected person who believes he is an important historical religious figure, or who is influenced by pertinent religious ideas or concepts (such as causing the coming of the Messiah or the second coming of Christ).

Type II

Jerusalem syndrome superimposed on and complicated by idiosyncratic ideas. This does not always take the form of mental illness, but is just a culturally anomalous obsession with the significance of Jerusalem, either as an individual, or as part of a small religious group with idiosyncratic spiritual beliefs. Perhaps those named ‘zealots’ or ‘Zionists’ might fit this category.

Type III

Jerusalem syndrome as a discrete form, with no previous mental illness. This is the best-known type - a previously ‘normal’ person becomes psychotic after arriving in Jerusalem. The psychosis presents as an intense religious character and typically resolves to full recovery after a few weeks or after being removed from the locality. It shares some features with the diagnostic category of a "brief psychotic episode", although a distinct pattern of behaviours has been noted:[by whom?]. See later list.

“Jerusalem symbolises what is holy, historical and the heavenly, and has a special attraction for people of several of the world's faiths and religions — especially Jews, Christians and Muslims. When people dream of Jerusalem, they do not see the modern, politically controversial Jerusalem, but rather the holy biblical and religious city. Since 1980, Jerusalem's psychiatrists have encountered an ever-increasing number of tourists who, upon arriving in Jerusalem, suffer psychotic decompensation. In view of the consistently high incidence of this phenomenon, it was decided to channel all such cases to one central facility — the Kfar Shaul Mental Health Centre (Bar-El et al, 1991a) — for psychological counselling, psychiatric intervention and, if deemed necessary, admission to hospital. Over the course of 13 years (1980-1993), 1200 tourists with severe, Jerusalem-generated mental problems have been referred to this facility. Of these, 470 were admitted to hospital. On average, 100 such tourists are seen annually, 40 of them requiring admission to hospital.” (Source, BPJ)

There are also (typically for psychiatry) several sub-types of the main types (source: BPJ):

Sub-Type 1

Subtype I(ii): psychotic identification with an idea

Individuals from this subtype strongly identify with an idea (usually of a religious nature, sometimes of a political nature) and arrive in Jerusalem to act on this idea.

e.g.

A Protestant from South America conceived a plan to destroy Islamic holy places in order to replace them with Jewish holy places. The second stage of his plan was then to destroy them in order to start the war of Gog and Magog so that the Anti-Christ would reveal himself, after which Christ would reappear. The patient succeeded in gutting one of the most holy mosques in Jerusalem. Psychiatric examination was ordered by the court, and he was diagnosed as being unable to differentiate between right and wrong, not responsible for his deeds and therefore not fit to stand trial. He was admitted to a local psychiatric institution and later transferred to a mental health institution in his own country.

This subtype consists of patients with ‘magical ideas’ concerning sickness and health and healing possibilities connected with Jerusalem. Interestingly, the famous Russian writer Gogol, after psychosis had ended his writing, had a revelation suggesting that he would do well to visit Jerusalem and recite special prayers at holy burial sites there in order to recover from his illness and be able to start writing again. Gogol travelled to Israel in 1848, but starved himself to death four years later (Nabokov, 1971).

Subtype I(iv): family problems culminating in psychosis in Jerusalem

This subtype comprises individuals whose mental disturbance is expressed in terms of family problems. This subtype is problematic because, under the influence of the psychosis, it is usually impossible to identify the core meaning of Jerusalem to the patient in association with the psychosis, or the motive for his travelling to Jerusalem. Yet these individuals choose to come repeatedly to Jerusalem, and while there develop florid psychosis.

e.g.

A South African man, suffering from bipolar affective disorder and with a history of several stays in hospital in his homeland, visited Jerusalem on four occasions, each following a manic episode culminating in admission to hospital. According to this man, he came to Jerusalem in order to kill a man who had raped his daughter. His family always forewarned the Israeli health authorities of his visits and, consequently, he was admitted to hospital immediately upon his arrival in Jerusalem. After receiving treatment, he usually had the capacity to show a degree of insight, and to note that when he became manic, he got upset with his daughter's husband. In remission, he was able to admit to his behaviour being pathological and to admit that he actually admired and respected his son-in-law. Psychologists who treated him have described his disorder as a reversed Oedipus complex which was manifest during manic phases. His connection with Jerusalem is not clear; neither is it clear why he is drawn to Jerusalem in seeking a solution

Sub-Type II

The Type II subgroup involves people with mental disorders such as personality disorders or an obsession with a fixed idea, but who do not have a clear mental illness; their strange thoughts and ideas fall short of delusional or psychotic dimensions. Type II can be divided into two subtypes: subtype II(i) applies to individuals belonging to a group; subtype II(ii) which is less common, applies to lone individuals. (Ed. This type is very similar to those ‘lone wolves’ amongst Muslims who kill from a sense of loyalty to the Koran. But, their acts are devoid of emotion as they appear to be psychopathic).

Type II probably accounts for a relatively large number of Jerusalem syndrome sufferers. In groups, they are highly visible; they stand out in public places, especially holy ones. They are occasionally featured in the media but they do not, on the whole, reach professional psychiatric agencies.

Subtype II(i): individuals belonging to a group

e.g.

Various Christian groups outside the mainstream of the established churches settle in Jerusalem in order, for instance, to bring about the resurrection of the dead or the reappearance of Jesus Christ. Such groups usually consist of no more than about 20 members. One group, previously located in Jerusalem, is now settled near Jericho, another is located in the Jerusalem Forest, and yet another is based in the centre of Jerusalem. The members of these groups wear distinctive clothing which, according to them, is similar to that worn in the days of Christ.

Various Jewish groups also have unusual ideas and intentions regarding Jerusalem. We know of three groups currently attempting to ‘create’ a red heifer based on writings contained in the Old Testament (Numbers, XIX). In the Bible, the red heifer was to be sacrificed and its ashes used for purification rituals before entering the Temple. Today, apparently, simply touching the red heifer will suffice. The problem is that a perfect, unblemished, completely red heifer has yet to be conceived.

The members of these groups do not usually undergo psychiatric examination because they do not evoke problems, endanger others, or break the law. Only three individuals from such groups have been examined, as a result of a court order after a violent confrontation with neighbours; all three were diagnosed as suffering from personality disorders.

Subtype II(ii): Lone individuals

e.g.

A single German male aged 45, working in an academic position, considered healthy, and without any recognisable problems, is obsessed, without being able to explain why, with the need to find the ‘true’ religion. He spent five years studying the various streams of Christianity and further time studying the esoteric religions of ancient Persia, China and Japan, and reached the conclusion that none of them qualified as the ‘true’ religion. He then took leave from work, came to Jerusalem, and started studying Judaism at a university and in a Yeshiva (religious seminary). However, Judaism was also rejected. Finally, this man decided that the only true religion was, in his words, “primitive Christianity — the religion of Jesus before Peter and Paul ruined it”. He now felt it imperative to bring this message to the people of Jerusalem, and set about preaching it at every opportunity.

One day, on a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem, he succumbed to an attack of psychomotor agitation and started shouting at the priests, accusing them of being pagans and barbarians and of worshipping graven images. The confrontation developed into a violent struggle; eventually, the subject started to destroy statues and paintings. The court ordered admission to hospital at the Kfar Shaul Mental Health Centre for observation and psychiatric evaluation.

However, examination by experienced psychiatrists, including the District Psychiatrist of Jerusalem, revealed no psychopathology, not even the mildest personality disorder, all they could find was obsession with the fixed idea described above. Follow-up three years later again failed to indicate mental disorder, and the subject continues to work in his academic position, to believe in the same religion and to spread his message, regretting only that he was unable to do this in Jerusalem.

Sub-Type III

The third type of the Jerusalem syndrome is perhaps the most fascinating, in that it describes individuals with no previous history of mental illness, who fall victim to a psychotic episode while in Israel (and especially while in Jerusalem), recover fairly spontaneously, and then, after leaving the country, apparently enjoy normality.

Hence, Type III is unconjoined to other psychopathologies, and can be described as the ‘pure’ or ‘unconfounded’ form of the syndrome. Numerically, type III is a relatively small category: between 1980 and 1993 there were 42 cases fitting the three main diagnostic criteria described below.

Main diagnostic criteria for type III

First criterion

Subjects have no previous history of psychiatric illness — no prior psychotic episodes, no significant problems regarding work or family and no drug use. In other words, the subjects can be defined as healthy and devoid of any mental disorder.

Second criterion

Subjects arrive in Jerusalem as regular tourists, with no special mission or specific purpose in mind. They usually arrive with friends or family members, often as part of a larger group on an organised tour of Mediterranean countries.

Third criterion

Subjects have, upon arrival in Jerusalem, an acute psychotic reaction that develops in a consistently characteristic sequence of seven identifiable clinical stages.

The seven clinical stages of type III

Declaration of the desire to split away from the group or the family and to tour Jerusalem alone. Tourist guides aware of the Jerusalem syndrome and of the significance of such declarations may at this point refer the tourist to our institution for psychiatric evaluation in an attempt to pre-empt the subsequent stages of the syndrome. If unattended, these stages are usually unavoidable.

A need to be clean and pure: obsession with taking baths and showers; compulsive fingernail and toenail cutting.

Preparation, often with the aid of hotel bed-linen, of a long, ankle-length, toga like gown, which is always white.

The need to scream, shout, or sing out loud psalms, verses from the Bible, religious hymns or spirituals. Manifestations of this type serve as a warning to hotel personnel and tourist guides, who should then attempt to have the tourist taken for professional treatment. Failing this, the two last stages will develop.

A procession or march to one of Jerusalem's holy places.

Delivery of a ‘sermon’ in a holy place. The sermon is usually very confused and based on an unrealistic plea to humankind to adopt a more wholesome, moral, simple way of life.

Treatment and recovery

Type III does not usually involve visual or auditory hallucinations. Patients know who they are and do not claim to be anyone else. If questioned, they identify themselves by their real name. However, they ask not to be disturbed in the completion of their mission. Their condition usually returns to normal within 5-7 days; in other words, a short-lived episode followed by complete recovery. These individuals clearly need treatment, and often receive it, but recovery is quite often spontaneous and not necessarily due to the treatment. Experience has taught us that improvement is facilitated by, or dependent on, physically distancing the patient from Jerusalem and its holy places. On the whole, major medical intervention is not indicated; minor tranquillisers or melatonin (as in cases of jet-lag psychosis) usually suffice. The main treatment strategy is to facilitate return to the group or the renewal of family ties (including with family overseas), or, if deemed appropriate, access to a priest. Crisis intervention psychotherapy plays an important part in the recovery process.

Upon recovery, patients can usually recall every detail of their aberrant behaviour. They are inevitably ashamed of most of their actions, and feel that they have behaved foolishly or childishly. They sometimes describe their conduct as being akin to that of a ‘clown’ or a ‘drug addict’. However, in most cases, they are reluctant to talk about the episode, and it has therefore been difficult to achieve a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. Those who do talk after the episode often talk about a sense of “something opening up inside them”, their body movements suggesting an outward disposition. After this sensation, they feel an obligation to carry out certain actions or to relay their message.

An example (see above) is provided by a Swiss lawyer who arrived in Jerusalem on a group tour of the Middle East which included one week in Greece, one week in Israel, and one week in Egypt. He had been perfectly healthy up to the time of the trip, and spent an enjoyable week in Greece. Onset of type III of the syndrome was indicated on his first night in Jerusalem. The subject fitted the three diagnostic criteria perfectly, and the development of the syndrome followed the seven characteristic stages faithfully. The whole process took seven days, after which the syndrome passed. The subject re-joined the tour, enjoyed his visit to Egypt and returned home in good health. Follow-up indicates that since returning home six years ago, the subject has been completely healthy.

In seeking out distinctive background features of type III patients, it is found that, of the 42 cases, 40 were Protestants, one was Catholic, and one was a Jew who had lived as a Protestant while in hiding during the Second World War. All 40 Protestants came from what can be described as ‘ultra-religious families’. The Bible was the most important book to these families, who would read it together at least once a week. The Bible would also serve as a source of answers to seemingly insoluble problems — especially for the father, as head of the family.

For fundamentalist believers of this type, Jerusalem assumes the highest significance: such people possess an idealistic subconscious image of Jerusalem, the holy places and the life and death of Jesus. It seems, however, that those who succumb to type III of the Jerusalem syndrome are unable to deal with the concrete reality of Jerusalem today — a gap appears between their subconscious idealistic image of Jerusalem and the city as it appears in reality. One might view their psychotic state and, in particular, the need to preach their universal message as an attempt to bridge the gap between these two representations of Jerusalem.

In an attempt to arrive at a broader empirical base questionnaires were sent to all 42 of type III patients, but received responses from only four of them — and these merely stated that they were feeling good and thanked us for our treatment, with no further elaboration. None answered the questionnaire. Attempts to obtain information by telephone interview produced the same disappointing result; the ex-patients insisted that they were feeling well, and did not want to talk about their experiences of Jerusalem syndrome.

Issues Arising (in the minds of psychiatrists)

‘Well-known-place’ and travellers syndrome

The first question that arises in discussing the Jerusalem syndrome — and, in particular, type III — is whether it is unique to Jerusalem, or whether other holy places induce similar syndromes. Hysterical or psychotic manifestations related to places — such as those that appear at Mecca, holy places in India, Catholic holy places where the Virgin Mary is worshipped, and evangelical rallies — may well resemble our description; however, the Jerusalem syndrome documented here remains a unique phenomenon which deserves thorough appraisal.

Several explanations have been offered to account for psychotic breakdown among travellers. Some of these explanations suggest that the change of routine involved in travel influences mental state to a considerable extent (Bar-El et al, 1991b). Flinn (1962) and Singh (1961) list a number of factors such as unfamiliar surroundings, proximity to foreigners or strangers, inactivity, a sense of isolation and culture clash.

Factors such as these, compounded by the special significance of Jerusalem to Jews, Christians and Muslims, may serve to trigger an acute psychotic episode. According to Cohen (1979), the ‘existential’ mode of travelling (one of five modes of tourism; this mode refers to journeys to a spiritual centre) constitutes a modern metamorphosis of the pilgrimage. It is worth noting that Freud (1936) reported having experienced a sense of derealisation while visiting the Acropolis.

The possibility that other place-oriented syndromes and the Jerusalem syndrome may share a common denominator even though they appear to be fundamentally different should not be dismissed. For instance, in the case of ‘airport wanderers’ or ‘airport syndrome’ (Shapiro, 1982), a condition found among tourists who get lost and who experience psychotic episodes in airports, it has been suggested that the airports symbolically highlight pre-existing problems. However, unlike victims of the Jerusalem syndrome, people who develop airport syndrome forget their identity, are unaware of where they have come from or where they are going to and bump into people. Recovery is usually spontaneous after minimal assistance, perhaps a drink and a short rest.

The Stendhal syndrome (see previous note)

The condition most closely resembling the Jerusalem syndrome is the Stendhal syndrome identified by Magherini (1992), which describes a particular acute psychotic reaction arising among art-loving tourists visiting Florence. The syndrome is named after the French writer Stendhal, who described feelings of déjà vu and disquiet after looking at works of art in Florence. Magherini in her book Sindrome di Stendhal (1992) presented the statistical, socio-demographical, clinical and travel-related variables of 106 tourists who were admitted to hospital in Florence between 1977 and 1986. She described cases in which a small detail in a famous painting or sculpture evoked an outburst of anxiety, reaching psychotic dimensions. According to her, such reactions are usually associated with a latent mental or psychiatric disturbance that manifests itself as a reaction to paintings of battles or other masterpieces and culminates in the full-blown Florence or Stendhal syndrome.

Note: Psychiatrists who gave the above information advise that their paper is not a research document but a phenomenological study presented to the British Journal of Psychiatry (Vol 176, Issue 1), Jan 2000.

Final Note:

To me there can be only two possible causations: an underlying and unacknowledged source of internal, unresolved stress, and, the high possibility of demonic interference (similar to westerners being attacked demonically if watching or taking part in, Hindu feasts, ceremonies, etc).

Why in Jerusalem? Yes, the city is the City of David, the place where Jesus died, etc., but when most Christians visit, they forget serious facts:

That God removed not just Jerusalem, but the entire countries of Israel and Judah, because of the sins of the people

That Jesus foretold the fall of Jerusalem because of the sin of the people and the Sanhedrin

That, until God moves many in Judaism to be saved, Jerusalem is still under God’s curse. And, with some of Jerusalem illicitly possessed/controlled by Muslims, there is a ‘double curse’ in operation, and so demonic possessions, even temporary, are a likely cause of the syndrome.

Too many believers have a wrong view of Jerusalem, and some even use ‘twee’ Jewish words or phrases, or indulge in Jewish festivals and ceremonies, as though they somehow make the person more holy. This is far from true. Judaism was ended by Jesus Christ, Whose New Testament removed the entire Jewish protocol. It is no longer valid, so Christians who refer to Jews as their ‘brethren’ are gravely mistaken, because they try to bring back to life what God dissolved 2000 years ago.

The sudden onset of this syndrome in those without previous mental disturbances strongly suggests demonic influence in at least those cases.